Not Just A Tomboy
by Reta McClain
Summary: Roy has come across many women during his life. One is still a mystery to him. Royai, oneshot, rated T, manga based.


**title: **Not Just A Tomboy  
**pairing: **Royai  
**rating: **T overall  
**summary: **Roy has come across many women during his life. One is still a mystery to him.

**A/N: **Sooo, another Royai one-shot. I'm starting to wonder why on earth I write it as EdWin is my OTP... -sigh- I was very bored while writing this one.

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For as long as he could remember, Roy had been the object of attention and affection among ladies.

One of his earliest memories involved all the neighbourhood ladies and a bed sheet he had wet accidentally. He had come to search for his mother after his usual afternoon nap was disturbed by his "accident". At the time he was too young to change the bed sheets himself.

He had found her – and a herd of women from all around their part of town – talking about Mr. Perkins' dog, whose favourite hobby was to destroy flowers in their boxes and beds.

He had called for his mother and told her his problem with all the seriousness he could muster, only slightly embarrassed by the situation and not because of the women in the room.

They had all gone starry eyed and went all "awww" and "coo" and "how absolutely cute and adorable" he was.

He had been three years old.

At school the girls were never afraid of "boy cooties" when dealing with him, and sought for his company a little bit too often for his tastes. They even ignored the fact that he was scared of their cooties.

When he was old enough to start dating, he hardly had any trouble finding himself company in a form of nice girl. The hardest time at this area were the first three and half months, as during that time he learned through mistakes and success. Girls practically lined up after he had the basics learned. At that time he noticed that he enjoyed blonde girls more so than others. Why, he didn't know. It may have been because his mother's hair was at least as black and shiny as his, while his father – always amused by his son's popularity and mostly offering him good advice ("Never sleep with a girl or woman, unless you're serious.") - had brown curls with reddish hue in them. Wether that or something else was the reason to his preference, he always took a blonde (unless the girl was a total bitch) if there was one among brunettes, red-heads and raven haired beauties.

When he found alchemy, his interest was peaked and girls became secondary. People would hardly see him out of library or his home. He was seventeen when that happened. But his yearning for knowledge couldn't be satisfied in his hometown's small library with even smaller amount of books on the subject.

His father had come to his rescue then, contacting some of his old friends and someone had suggested sending him to ask for an apprenticeship from an alchemist named Hawkeye. He journeyed to the next town and got the place, much to his pleasure. While there, he would constantly run across Hawkeye's thirteen year old daughter, Riza.

Riza was a completely new experience to Roy as she was wild, tomboy-ish girl, armed with a slingshots and bags after bags filled with small rocks, dried peas and beans. Roy deemed himself lucky as Hawkeye-sensei had had enough sense to forbid his daughter from using them in the house.

She made up for it outside, though.

After his first month at the house he came to a conclusion that Riza had made following him around and causing him loads of misery her life purpose.

She confused him because she wasn't like the girls _should_ be (he ignored the fact that it was only his opinion). Her hair was cropped short, she never wore dresses or skirts unless Hawkeye-sensei forced her to, she didn't use make up of any kind in any occasion they came across during his two year stay at the household.

Then he joined the military in secret, intending to impress both his family and sensei and planning to take the State Alchemist exam after few years of independent study. There, much to his annoyance, he got the most frustrating that ever existed. He was few years older than Roy and had black hair with a name of Maes Hughes. What made him annoying was the manner he constantly bragged about his girlfriend Glacier whenever he got a change. He didn't even care if the person didn't want to hear it. Roy didn't but thanks to that sharp eyed (only because of the glasses perched on his nose, Roy was ready to bet) freak he remembered the existence of the opposite sex. It took him no time to make a reputation among the ladies of the academy.

Then he – after many confidence-boosting-dates like Maes liked to call them – went to confront his old teacher.

He hadn't expected the man's wistful talk during their meeting and Roy could sense that something was seriously wrong. He just felt the wrongness radiating from his teacher. The wrongness became apparent when blood spilled from Hawkeye-sensei's lips. The blond man had died in his arms when Riza opened the study door. Her horrified expression was burned into his memories.

At Hawkeye-sensei's funeral Riza wore a black knee-length skirt. That was possibly the only time when the fifteen year old wore it willingly. Roy didn't know why he remembered the length and colour of her skirt, he just did.

For years afterwards, he would feel guilty of letting her trust her back and her father's research to him. He had touched her, an underage girl while himself being a man already, and felt awful for doing so. He had invaded her privacy, just for the sake of knowledge. He didn't dare to think if she felt violated and blamed him for her father's death and being the person who now knew the secrets of Flame Alchemy.

Later, when she asked him to burn the tattoo on her back, he didn't know how he should act. Did she regret showing it to him, after seeing all the death and destruction he could cause with just the snap of his fingers?

Maybe she did and he couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself.

At that point of his life, there weren't really any women. He was feeling down due to Riza's demeanor, despite how much Maes tried to make him feel better by showing countless pictures of Glacier to his face, and then – he was called to Ishval, accompanied by other State Alchemists. In that hot wasteland he was constantly plagued by nightmares like all the others but unlike them, he couldn't search for the pleasures of flesh while there.

There he met people who he disliked from the beginning and people who would support him for years to come.

Then he met the mysterious sniper "Hawk's Eyes" and the world he had lived in for months after months, grumbled apart. The same Riza Hawkeye, who would fling dried beans from her slingshot at him and steal his various garments of clothing, was in Ishval, right in front of him, and made living by killing Ishvalans from her position of a top of some tower.

After the War ended with him in a position of Lieutenant Colonel, he requested for her as he knew what she had become. An apparently fearless killer with a deathly aim, who rarely showed her real feelings anymore. Now Roy found himself missing the small, carefree girl who he had learned to know years ago.

Then they got the documents about Elric Brothers and found two broken children in the small village of Resembool in a need of help and reassurance. A year later the older one was under Roy's direct command as a State Alchemist.

At that time, for a reason unknown to him, Riza started growing her hair out and he often found his fingers itching to touch it.

He was twenty six and it had been nine years since he met her.

And despite all those years of experience women – and Riza in particular – he never expected her to come to the top of him.

Not in _that_ way, you perverts.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Roy gasped as the impact with the ground emptied his lungs with a whoosh.

It took him a moment to regain his senses and when he did, the first thing that came to his immediate attention was – strangely enough – a tuff of blonde hair sticking out from a bun just under his nose. The second thing was the aching pain in the back of his head, his back and his chest, where the blonde was laying. The third one was the burning pain in his calf.

Then the blonde hair was gone from his face and by the flash of blue Amestris military uniform he identified the intruder of his privacy as Riza. Plus he could hear the gunshots from near him. And many others from further away.

"Are you alright, sir?" she didn't even glance over her shoulder.

Roy grimaced and sat up the best he could, staying behind their low safety barrier, which, after closer inspection, appeared to be a part of the wall of the nearest house.

"Few bruises and a bullet in the left calf", he grunted after checking.

He caught the faintest grimace on her face.

As the gunfire continued to rage around them, Roy rose to all fours, letting out a quiet hiss of pain when the movement pulled the wounded muscle. He poked his head over their barricade to assess the situation. He managed to catch a quick image of a dark haired man in black leather few rocks over before he had to duck down with a cry of pain as the bullet crazed the skin over his right eye and temple.

His cry alarmed Riza and with a shout of "sir!" she dove down next to him.

"'M fine", he slurred, trying to get some sense to the situation. There was blood in his eyes.

Maybe thanks to the bullet he had trouble focusing to Riza's face but from what he could make out, it seemed that worry was etched into her very features. A warm feeling filled his chest for that before he managed to get his brain into order.

He was probably delusional. Yes, Riza wouldn't show worry, yes, he was seeing things.

Again.

By her disapproving silence he judged that she wanted to object but before she got a change to say anything, he interrupted: "It's just a craze."

His head was much clearer now.

"What's out status?"

She seemed to calm down from his question. Both the question and the tone of his voice was purely professional now. They're back to work, put the masks back in place. He had given her her safety blanket back.

Sometimes he found himself regretting all those times he had given it to her.

"We're behind a large piece of debris at Sunrise Avenue, near the market place at the northern part of the city, cornered by seven armed men", she recited emotionlessly, like talking about a recipe of a pie.

Roy grimaced. "Any sign of back up?"

"None, sir."

He swore. This was not looking good.

"Weaknesses in the enemy lines?"

"None that I can point out, sir."

_Definitely _not good. If Riza couldn't point out any obvious weak points then they're in a really deep shit.

"Alchemists?"

"If there are, they haven't revealed themselves."

Roy frowned. Well, at least one good thing as they probably didn't have anyone dangerous in that area of expertice. He rose slowly back into a sitting position and looked at the direction of gunshots.

"Lieutenant", he said sharply, wiping some blood from his brow with his dirty uniform sleeve. "Tell me their locations. We're going to have some roasted terrorists."

She opened her mouth to voice her protests and, very inappropriately, his gaze fell onto her lips. He almost groaned but decided himself lucky that he wasn't staring her breasts. _'Idiot'_, he scolded himself. _'You don't have time to think women _now_! Why the hell does this happen _every fucking time _I'm in a tight spot with Riza?!'_

"Do not object", he ordered, forcing himself out of those thoughts. "We're trapped", he glanced into her red tinted eyes. "We won't survive unless back up team shows up right about now or unless we do something drastic."

Her mouth snapped shut but to Roy it was clear as a day that she still heavily disapproved his decision. Roy didn't dare to care now, he would go to his normal guilt trip when they weren't in danger of getting a gunshot between their eyes.

Soon they're both kneeling behind their barricade, trying to look for attackers without exposing themselves to their bullets. Roy's gaze swept over the much suffered sidewalk. Bulletholes littered the old cobblestones and shards of rock decorated the area. Windows in the nearby houses were broken and many were missing huge parts of their walls and roofs.

"Fifty feet on the right, behind a garden gate", came soft voice beside him.

He made few final adjustments to his ignition glove in his hand as he turned to look at Riza's indicated direction. He saw a shadow sift.

He snapped.

Flames shot out from his fingers towards the attacker. A warm breeze brushed against his face as he felt a stab of guilt when the man screamed as his flames attacked his flesh. He knew one of the seven was neutralized but it didn't bring him any satisfaction.

Riza's voice wavered slightly as she said: "One hundred feet on the roof at right."

A wave of guilt would wash over him every time one of the men screamed, every time he had to make her tell him where the next one was, every time when she flinched.

Riza didn't want to see him using this particular branch of alchemy and Roy knew this, even though she rarely showed it. He knew she didn't like to see him using the very thing she had taught him to be used for killing people. That's why she had put off their invenitable meeting at Ishval for so long.

When he aimed towards the last attacker, he saw rather than heard, the gunshot ring out. The next this was a cry of pain from beside him. Roy snapped his fingers as his ears recognized Riza's shout.

He didn't bother to check if he hit before diving down to blonde woman's side. Her eyes were pressed tightly shut and she was biting her lip so hard it drew blood. But Roy's immediate attention was at her right side. Her hand was pressed tightly against it, knuckles white, and Roy could see blood on her hand and uniform.

Roy swore under his breath.

Being an alchemist and a scientist, Roy knew human anatomy rather well. And this shot could be bad, depending on how deep it was. However, he was 99 percent sure that the bullet had hit her right kidney and if they were unlucky, it could have also hit her liver or even the pancreas. Be it that way or another, she wouldn't be doing any work for awhile. Nor shooting.

"How… bad is it?" Riza asked through clenched teeth.

"At least the right kidney", he answered, starting to take his uniform jacket off.

She regarded him quietly for a moment with her gaze. "What… are you doing… sir?"

"To dress your wound the best of my ability", he grunted, laying the blue jacket to the ground beside him.

He was slightly surprised that Riza let him tear his under shirt into shreds and dress her wound without protest. And she was avoiding his eyes.

"And now… what?" she questioned after a moment of awkward silence.

Roy frowned thoughtfully, contemplating their options.

"We wait for a back up or clean up team", he said at last.

Riza grimaced at his words. "You know… it might take… hours… right, sir?"

Roy sighed. Yes, he did know.

They had been sent to catch a bunch of terrorists terrorizing the city. They had found them, twenty terrorists in total, from their hide-out rather easily thanks to Maes and his Intelligence network.

Then they had gotten separated from their team in a battle that had ravaged through that part of the city. Luckily they had managed to evacuate the civilians as they had caused quite a lot of destruction.

That's why it might take hours for someone to find them. The battle had taken place in such a large area that someone appearing to their current location to clean up first was next to impossible as they were so far from Headquarters.

The bullet in his calf might not have been quite that bad but it easily prevented him from walking and dragging Riza with him to the nearest hospital. So the only thing they could do was for someone to find them and hopefully not the rest of the terrorists.

Roy glanced at Riza from the corner of his eye, pondering how to make waiting more comfortable for the both of them.

He crawled to lean against the wall near Riza's head. She ignored him, possibly in the favour or pain. He picked her head up gently and placed it into his lap.

Her eyes shot open and stared into his onyx ones in shock. "W-what are you d-doing, sir?" she squeaked, something completely new to Roy.

He gave her an impish grin. "Making you more comfortable", he said, faking his usual smugness and confidence.

Now Riza blushed, which amused Roy greatly. The last time he could regal her blushing was when he accidentally walked in when she was at shower soon after he moved to the Hawkeye household. Come to think of it, he had blushed too, even though he wasn't sure why. Her figure had been very child-like back then and at that time hadn't been confused by breasts for quite some time. Then why had he blushed?

He looked down at her pale face, taking in the dirt on her cheeks, the closed eyelids and the strands of blonde hair framing her face. Roy felt his breath hitch in his throat, for the first time in years because of a woman's beauty.

He didn't know why he had never noticed it before, that Riza was actually beautiful. Maybe it was because his first impression of her had been a small and scrawny tomboy with a slingshot and later she had turned in to a comrade in arms and then into a subordinate and someone he could trust. He had seen her as a man among his unit and the military. Never a woman.

He frowned and shook his head. Now wasn't the right time to think about things like this.

He leaned his head back and shut his eyes, letting his other senses to take over. A slight breeze on his face… bringing a smell of charred and burnt flesh into his nose… gunpowder was still lingering in the air… Riza's shampoo that reminded him of vanilla… her soft hair under his fingers…

Roy's breathing evened and he knew no more.

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**OMAKE**

"I told you, we weren't having 'a moment'!"

"Aww, c'mon, chief. Everyone knows you fancy her."

-stuttering and useless protests-

-sniggering-

SNAP.

BOOM.

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**A/N:** Yup, Roy lost it xD I was too lazy to write anything else so I wrote an omake for you. So Havoc and co. found Riza and Roy sleeping and because Havoc is cool and spiffy he went to outmouth Roy xD

Reviews are more than appreciated. They're worshipped!

**To those who follow _Sinner's Path:_**  
I'm working on editing the 5th chapter and it'll be up sometime this week. I'm just having few technical problems right now and I'm also busy so...

Yeah, I'll update.


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